When the younger son decided he needed to return home, the most he hoped for was to be received as one of the hired hands. He gave up his rights as a son when he took his share of the inheritance and left the ranch. But the father had other plans. Not only does he run to embrace his son with strong and compassionate hands, he gives him the best robe, shoes, and a ring for his finger. These were symbols that he was fully welcomed back into the family as a member- not a servant, but a son.
The Apostle Paul echoes this idea in the letter to the Galatians. He writes, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child, then also an heir, through God." Galatians 4: 4-7
Today, Holy Saturday, we again remember the length God went to bring us back as God's children. Today there will be Easter egg hunts in city parks, shoppers buying groceries for tomorrow's Easter dinner, the Final Four basketball games in Indiana- in other words, life goes on. But today, the final day of Lent, we also pause to remember how, after his death on the cross, Christ lay in the tomb. This is the most extravagant act of love imaginable- his death for ours. In the midst of this busy day we pause to remember our Lord in the tomb, praying, " Thank You for Your extravagant love for me, revealed in Your Son's passion and death." Amen
While gifts may reflect extravagant love, it's the joyful hugs and connections that mean the most
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